NC front end protection: 3M, car bra?

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:35 pm

Greetings all,

looking for some front end protection for my NC while it is doing it's weekday commuting duties.
Most of my commuting is before sunrise/after sunset (yep long way to travel and long hours), and with all the freeway + country road driving, i get lots of bugs and regular stonings in the front end.

A dreaded car-bra is foremost in my sights, since it is relatively affordable, and can be removed on weekends. Will save washing all the bugs off every night, which i just don't have time for. Anyone using such a thing? Mania have 2 piece item, just looking to see if there are alternatives (1 piece?).

Alternatively, there is the 3M protection, although the initial prices i have found come out at more than double a car-bra (installed). Has anyone attempted one of those 3M 'kits' on Ebay?

sliq · Postby **sliq** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:14 pm

this doesn't answer your question, but get a car bra mate. you can't go wrong.. if you ran into a branch, i don't think a 3M coat will save you from the damage as much as a car bra.. particularly because you do country driving.. i learnt the hard way

Charlie Brown · Postby **Charlie Brown** » Thu May 22, 2008 11:57 am

A few members of the Club have used the clear bra material but had it professionally done. It's not cheap but having seen the result and the way mine looks at the moment compared to theirs I think that it is well worth while. Another area on the NC not to forget are the sills. They cop a battering especially with R-Spec tyres on track days.

Mactype · Postby **Mactype** » Thu May 22, 2008 12:59 pm

Go and see Andrew at OziCozi

http://www.ozicozi.com.au

Not sure of pricing, least with this stuff you can have it removed at a later date and replaced to look good as new. (I hear he looks after you well with this type of service too).

I used a bra on a Audi years ago and it was atrocious, if you pick up any dirt underneath they tend to leave scratches - never again.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri May 23, 2008 6:22 pm

T/bird2 you might try Car Bra Aust www.carbra.com.au ( 03 9469 3014). They are in Reservoir Melb. I have no experience with them but guessing someone can tell you. They advertise as Australian made (31yrs)

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Sat May 24, 2008 8:48 pm

I found the guys at ozicozi to be very helpful when I went to see them for some protection for my bike. I would recomend a professional install though. It would be way to easy to do a dodgy looking install, especially on the curvacious NC.

I have a genuine Mazda car bra that I imported from the US several years ago for my NB and it's far and away the best car bra I've used for fit and ease of installation. I dont think I would recomend a bra for daily use though. I only use mine for long trips and I've never had any problems with paint scuffing. And it's been used lots of times in dusty/wet conditions, even through swarms of lucusts. But it looks a bit average and would need to be removed and reinstalled every time you washed the car. I'd be worried about the paint not covered by the bra changing colour from fading too when used for prolonged periods. Bras are more effective than the 3m film in preventing stone chips and keeping insect gunge from the front of the car though.

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Sat May 24, 2008 10:58 pm

Mactype wrote:Go and see Andrew at OziCozi

http://www.ozicozi.com.au

Not sure of pricing, least with this stuff you can have it removed at a later date and replaced to look good as new. (I hear he looks after you well with this type of service too).

I used a bra on a Audi years ago and it was atrocious, if you pick up any dirt underneath they tend to leave scratches - never again.

A friend of mine has this fitted to her M3. It's well stuck together and cut superbly along the lines of the Bimmer, even around the contours of the bumper. It's near invincible except along the bonnet, as the covering only goes 1/4 way up of the bonnet, in some angles, it looks like someone has keyed across it. Perhaps it does not help that her M3 is black. Plus her polish leaves white residue along the ends which makes it worse.

Marty · Postby **Marty** » Sun May 25, 2008 10:42 am

Hammer wrote: Plus her polish leaves white residue along the ends which makes it worse.

I've heard the trick for getting rid of that is to use a tooth pick to remove the polish along the end "join" line.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:27 pm

Interesting comments and info. If I had a car bra I would put it on for trips. Whilst I cannot prove it I feel that being low maybe makes the 5 susceptible to sand gravel etc kicked up by other cars- less a problem around town. The other advantage of the car bra is that it is re-saleable when you change vehicles. Bigger sedans of course have the advantage of being able to use pc bonnet protectors which work very well.

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:51 am

Picked up a 'Cal-Bra' car bra from Mania a few weeks ago. For the price, they are quite a good item. First install required heating and stretching, it goes on easier now.

Some of the clips move a little. They are plastic, i'm thinking about putting something between some of the clips to offer a little extra proctection.

This has already done some good work in fending of a hail of gravel from trailers heading through the roadworks on the southern freeway.

sliq · Postby **sliq** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:25 pm

for those who drive through country or go on long runs, i would highly recommend a car bra.. well worth the money.. saves you all the pain of stone chips and flying debris..

just wait till you have a 2-3 hours drive through the country, thunderbird, you'll be cleaning insects off the bra

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:44 pm

sliq wrote:just wait till you have a 2-3 hours drive through the country, thunderbird, you'll be cleaning insects off the bra

Ah, my daily commute almost consists of that, actually. Approx. 115kms each way, from the Highlands (not far from Maquarie Pass, actually). And since i start work at 7am, and usually finish around 7pm, it's almost always at night. Lottts of bugs, especially in summer.

Peter Howe · Postby **Peter Howe** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:35 pm

Just another vote for the 3M. I scraped my bumper bar lightly against a brick column in an underground garage. But fortunately had the film installed a month earlier. There were scratches on the film, but the installers simply cut out the scratched section, put a new one on, and it looked as good as new. The paint was not damaged at all. So despite that the film is only about 1mm thick, it can take a bit of abuse.

Also they told me the film does not stop UV from getting through so the whole paintwork will fade at the same rate.